LEGACY OF LOVE
by Donna McIntosh
Summary: What they did, they did for love. They only hoped the authorities would believe them if they ever got caught.


Title: LEGACY OF LOVE (Sequel to What Might Have Been)

Author: Donna McIntosh

Email: 

Fandom: Brokeback Mountain

Rating: NC – 17 FRAO

Genre: Slash

WARNING: Kind of dark and bloody with multiple deaths.

Disclaimer: I do not own Brokeback Mountain and I make no money off these stories.

Summary: What they did, they did for love. They only hoped the authorities would believe them if they ever got caught.

Beta: Thanks again Janie for all your help. You are very much appreciated.

LEGACY OF LOVE

They pulled Ennis' arms behind his back and one of them cut off a length of rope.

"What're you doin'? What do you want?" Ennis asked though he knew exactly what they were doing. He struggled but the four of them had him good.

"JACK! JACK!" He screamed as they tied the rope tightly around his wrists. He tried to kick out but there was a man holding each leg. They pulled his boots off as he fell to the ground, twisting and trying to free himself. He felt the bite of the rope as they tied his ankles together.

"Ennis! Ennis! What's a matter?" Jack called to him.

"**RUN, JACK! RUN!"** Ennis screamed but it was cut off when one of them stuck a rag in his mouth and pulled it into a knot at the back of his head.

"Ennis! Ennis" he could hear from a long way off as the four men dragged him out into the night.

He twisted and struggled but had no way to stop the hands that pulled his jeans down around his knees. The rope was pulled tight around his cock and balls and knotted for good measure.

"Ennis, for God's sake! Wake up!" Jack shook him hard as he could without knocking him out of the bed.

Ennis' frantic thrashing stopped as he jumped out of bed and grabbed his rifle from under his side of the bed.

"They're comin' for us, Jack! Get your gun!" Ennis ran down the stairs naked as a jay bird and checked both doors and the windows to make sure they were locked. Jack dogged him every step of the way.

"Ennis, it was just a dream! It's OK. There's no body after us!" He followed Ennis into the kitchen and watched as he peeked out through the back door window.

"They're out there, Jack. They come for us. I won't let 'em take you. I'll put a bullet in your head myself before I let them take you!"

Jack peeked out the back and saw their dogs asleep on the back porch. He knew no one was out there or they would be howling. No one set foot on their ranch since they got them that those two dogs didn't sing out their arrival. He looked around the kitchen for an idea and came to rest on the pop corn bowl standing full of water in the sink. He picked it up and said, "Ennis?"

Ennis turned to look at him and Jack flung the entire bowl full of water in his face.

Ennis sputtered and spit out water and stammered, "Jack! Uh… what's goin' on?" He lifted a hand to wipe the water from his face and was shocked to see a gun in his hand.

They were both standing in the middle of the kitchen stark naked and Jack had a frantic look in his eyes. "Jack?" Ennis stared from Jack to the gun he still held in his hand.

"Jesus, Ennis! You scared me to death!" Jack handed him a dish towel.

"What're you doin' in the kitchen, Jack?" Ennis asked still bewildered.

"Followin' you! That was one hell of a nightmare!"

"Huh?" The memory was gone for the moment and Ennis was left in a state of confusion. "Somethin' wrong? Why'd you get the gun out?"

"I didn't. You did. You said you was gonna protect me from them even if you had to put a bullet in my head!"

"Huh? Oh… Oh shit! Oh God, Jack." Ennis plopped down into a kitchen chair and the gun clanged across the table top as memory came flooding back to him. "It was them, Jack! They come for us!" As if that explained everything.

"Who? Who came for us?" Jack pulled a chair over close to Ennis and sat down beside him and caressed the back of his neck.

"The men that killed Earl. One of 'em was my Dad, one was L.D. I don't know who the other two were. They meant to kill us Jack."

"It was just a dream, Ennis. Just a bad dream."

"Didn't seem like no dream." Ennis said as he nervously reached over to check the chain lock on the back door.

"The dogs are sleepin', Ennis. You know yourself that if anyone was out there, they'd be howlin' like wolves."

"They're sleepin'? You're sure?" Ennis peeked out the back door window and saw them both stretched out on the porch, sound asleep.

"Maybe we should get some more dogs – keep 'em out by the gate."

"Ennis, we're safe here. Ain't nobody been nothin' but kind to us ever since we got here."

"But those men …"

"Ennis, that killin' happened more than thirty years ago. Your Pa's in the ground and I'm sure the others that done it are too by now."

"What about L.D.? He said he'd come for you again. It could be him out there."

"Ennis, there ain't nobody out there! You know as well as I do those dogs would be goin' nuts if there was."

Ennis snuck another peek out the back door at the sleeping dogs. One of them lifted his head and looked up at the window at Ennis then laid his head back down and went back to sleep.

"We got a do somethin', Jack. We got a be prepared. I ain't foolin' around with this – I won't let them take you again!"

"How about some coffee? It's almost gettin' up time anyway." Jack got up and fixed a pot of coffee on. "Why don't I just take this and put it back under the bed for now?" He reached for the gun.

"NO! I need it. I got a keep you safe, Jack."

"OK. You just hold on to it then. You be OK if I go up stairs and get our boots and jeans?"

"Wait. I'll go with you. They might could a got in the house." Ennis stood up and held the gun at the ready. "Stay behind me, Jack."

"Jesus!" Jack swept a hand through his tousled hair. He followed behind as Ennis tip-toed up the steps carefully. "We need some coffee, Cowboy. We need to get dressed and get some coffee in us. Just how much did you drink last night? You ain't had a nightmare like this as long as we been together."

"Shhh, Jack. Keep it down till I check the place out." Ennis peered carefully around the corner at the top of the stairs. "Wait here while I check the rooms. You hear a struggle; you get the hell out of here. Get in the pickup and take off for town."

"Shit, Ennis! You think if there really was someone after us, I'd take off and leave you?"

"I mean it, Jack! A ruckus starts up – I want you out a here."

Jack brushed past him and went into their room.

"Jack, wait! I ain't checked the bedroom out yet."

"For God's sake, Ennis, you still asleep? Do I need to go get another bowl of water to throw on you?" Jack angrily yanked his jeans on and stomped into his boots.

Ennis checked the room out carefully then started dressing also.

Jack was in the bathroom shaving when Ennis came in. "What're you mad at me for? I'm just tryin' to keep you safe."

"You don't need to worry about keepin' me safe. I can take care of myself!" Jack rinsed the extra foam off his face. "You're takin' this a little too seriously, Cowboy. It was just a fuckin' dream!"

"It didn't feel like no dream, Jack. It was real!"

"Well are you dead? Am I?" He toweled off and grabbed up his tooth brush. "You still got your dick and so do I!" Jack said spattering toothpaste down his chest as he gestured with his foamy toothbrush.

"Jack, we got a be careful, is all I'm sayin'."

"No it ain't. You're sayin' if any real trouble shows up, I'm supposed to run and hide like a girl! I ain't no girl, Ennis, and I don't wanna be treated like one. If there's trouble, we face it together. You think I ain't never been in a fight before? You really think I could just run away and hide if someone was hurtin' you? I guess you don't think very much of me; do you!"

"Jack, it ain't that …"

Jack went into the closet and yanked a shirt off its hanger and pulled it on. "We're in this together, Ennis, and if you can't handle it that way, then we'd better start re-thinkin' this whole thing."

Ennis went silent. It was the first time Jack had ever shown any doubts about them living together and it scared him.

"I don't wanna re-think nothin'." Ennis mumbled as he scratched at his whiskers. "I'd better go scrape some whiskers." He turned and went into the bathroom.

Jack snapped up his shirt and followed him. "Ennis, it was just a dream – just a fuckin' dream! There ain't no body after us. And if there was somebody out to make trouble I'd be right there beside you. And I'm tellin' you this – we wouldn't go down easy. They might just decide it wouldn't be worth the effort."

Ennis lathered up his face and ran his razor under the hot water faucet. "I never meant to make you mad or to treat you like a girl, Jack. I just wanna … see to it that you're safe."

"Don't you think I feel the same way about you? Do you really feel that I could run off while you get yourself beaten to death? You think I could do somethin' like that?"

"No, Bud, I don't – not really. I was just scared and I wanted you out of danger." Ennis turned a lathered up face to Jack.

"Dammit, Ennis, what part of 'together' don't you get?"

Ennis dropped his head.

"Either we're in this **together** or we're not! We eat together, we sleep together, we work together. And if there's trouble – we'll face it **together**! And if you can't live with that, then maybe you were right and this is all one big mistake." Jack stood with hands on hips.

"No, Jack! No. You and me – this ain't no mistake. These last couple a years – it's the first time I ever had a home – ever felt like I belonged somewhere. It ain't no mistake."

Jack swallowed hard and reached out for Ennis' hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm hungry. Finish up and I'll get breakfast started. You messed the bed up – you get to make it up."

"You ain't mad no more?" Ennis grinned a soapy grin.

"Ennis, dammit! Shave!" He turned around and walked out of the bathroom and headed down the stairs.

Ennis shaved closely and brushed his teeth then saw to the bedroom and made the bed, carefully smoothing out the sheet, just the way Jack always did. He even picked up the dirty clothes and chunked them into the laundry basket in the closet. A quick trip back into the bathroom to make sure he'd left it clean and he headed down the stairs.

He wondered where the dogs were as Jack always let them in first thing but they didn't come running. He stopped and listened for a minute. The silence was deafening. He could only smell one thing and that was burned coffee. Jack had let the pot boil over. He hurried into the kitchen to find it empty. No Jack, no dogs, no breakfast.

He stepped out onto the back porch and the dogs were still lying there drowsy and barely moving. He stepped over them and called for Jack. There was no answer. He figured Jack must have been in the down stairs bathroom and turned to go back inside and nearly tripped over the dogs that still hadn't moved.

He reached for the screen door and one of the dogs whimpered. He turned back to look at them again then bent down and ran his hand over the female's head. Something scraped against the palm of his hand as it ran down her neck and across her back. He flicked at it with a finger tip, separated the hair and found it – a tiny dart. The dog whimpered again and put her head down on her paws. The male just stared up at him and blinked his eyes.

All the sudden it hit him like a ton of bricks and he screamed at the top of his lungs "**JACK!!!!"**

He tore through the house from one room to the next then ran out to the barn. Jack was no where to be found. He was gone.

Ennis let out a heart-wrenching sob and began to pace in circles. Where was he? Who took him? Was it L.D. up to his foolishness again or was it the men with the tire irons?

xxxxxx

He drove into town his eyes darting from side to side to make sure he didn't miss anything – anything that might be on the side of the road – maybe bleeding to death. He looked for strange vehicles that he'd never seen before but there weren't any. He drove through town looking for any out of state license plates. He saw a few but nothing that looked remotely suspicious. One was a station wagon with a young couple and a bunch of kids in it; another was a sleek little sports car. Nothing the least bit threatening.

He went into a few of the bars and had a look around but saw nothing suspicious – no one staring at him or huddled together like they were up to something. He drove slowly back home and considered his options.

He put a fresh pot of coffee on, got out his thermos and hunting gear. He checked out his rifle, hooked his hunting knife onto his belt and loaded his pockets with extra ammo. He pulled an empty gallon milk jug out of the trash, rinsed it out and filled it with water. His coffee was ready then and he poured it into the thermos. He grabbed up a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a kitchen knife and tossed them in a grocery bag. A quick trip upstairs and he grabbed his pack from the closet and stuffed in a pair of jeans and a shirt, and out of the bathroom he got his razor and toothbrush. Under the sink he got their first-aid kit and tossed that in his pack as well.

He loaded everything into his pickup and headed out. He knew in his heart that this was L.D.'s doing and whoever took Jack had to have come from Texas so he headed south just as he had done the first time. Only this time, he didn't figure their orders were to bring Jack back. He drove the speed limit and scanned the sides of the road for any indication that a vehicle had pulled off. He stuck to the back roads all the while heading south.

He stopped just south of Lander when he passed a dirt road that looked like it had fresh tracks running off into the distance. He backed up and got out.

Sure enough – two vehicles had recently taken that turn off out into the woods. He stood beside his truck and took a piss then pulled out his rifle and loaded it. He drove slowly into the woods as he watched and listened carefully.

He had gone back into the woods about eight miles when he heard the noises. He stopped his vehicle and got out. He got off the trail and walked through the woods silently. He smelled the campfire and knew he was close when he heard voices. It was two men talking, of that he was sure, but what they were saying was beyond his range of hearing.

The first sentence he could make out was "Yeah, I'll have some more of that coffee." He peered through the trees and saw two men sitting by a camp fire, smoking and drinking coffee.

The next thing he heard was laughter – women's laughter. Two women came out of one of the two tents they had set up and were carrying plates of food. They sat down with the men and the four of them were enjoying breakfast.

Ennis listened while they talked about hiking and about their children spending time with their grandparents and other chit chat. This was obviously just two couples out on a camping trip. He backed away from their camp and worked his way back to his truck. He backed up a ways until he found a spot where he could turn around and then headed back to the highway.

His head was throbbing so he stopped long enough to slop some peanut butter on a couple slices of bread and made himself some sandwiches then got back on the road and ate while he drove. The food lessened his headache some but not his panic. Was he doing the right thing in handling this himself? Should he have gone to the authorities?

Was it really L.D. or was someone else involved in this? Would he be lucky enough to find Jack this time or would it be too late? Could Jack be already dead?

He shook that last thought out of his head. Jack was NOT dead! He would know it if he was. Jack was just scared and waiting for him to come find them. He would too. He knew he'd find him – sooner or later. And for their sakes, it had better be sooner because there was no telling what he might do if he found Jack hurt or worse.

He sat in his truck and thought about it. Just how far would these men travel before they did whatever they were told to do with Jack? He couldn't see them driving him all the way back to Texas so he concentrated on the immediate area. This was the perfect spot.

If he was wanting to … get rid of someone … this is the place he would come. A highly forested area with plenty of cover for whatever anyone wanted to do. It was remote enough and a gun-shot out in the woods would be ignored by anyone who heard it as someone either shooting game or varmints of one kind or another.

He headed his truck back into the woods off the next trail he came to. The going was rough and he was glad that Jack had talked him into buying the more expensive off-road tires. He bumped along heading west towards the lake he knew was out there somewhere.

He and Jack had camped all over these woods and he was reasonably sure he knew where he was as he headed into the thickest part of the forest. He stopped when he couldn't go any further and got out and listened. Not a sound was heard but the soft wind in the trees and a bird or two skittering overhead.

He walked around the small clearing and saw there was no direction that he could drive any further except to return the same way he came in. It was getting dark so he decided to stay there for the time being. Anyone in the area would be setting up a camp fire for the night and he wanted to be able to smell it. He sat and thought about Jack as he waited.

He was right all along. He had tried over and over to convince Jack that they couldn't live together and that no matter how many accepted their living arrangements there would always be some out there who didn't and would make it a point to make them pay.

Well these four ain't gonna get away with it. Not like those that done in poor Earl. He'd make them pay for putting their hands on Jack and if they hurt him – it would be the last thing on earth they ever did!

It had been dark a full hour when he started his walk. He walked a mile into the woods and then made a large circle around and back to the truck. No signs of any campfire, no smells and no sounds but the night-time sounds of the forest.

It took him several attempts but he managed to get his truck turned around and headed back the way he came. Somewhere along the way he spotted another trail and veered off on it. He drove slowly with the lights on low and the truck barely rolling. He kept the windows down and listened and sniffed the air. Nothing. Just before day break he stopped, leaned over on the seat and dozed for an hour.

He awoke with a start and heard something. Water was lapping at a shore nearby. He got his binoculars out and walked off towards the sound. He stayed back in the trees and scanned the shoreline of the lake. Again he found nothing. He was about to leave when something caught his eye. He put the binoculars to his eyes again and scanned the tree tops.

There it was – a faint trail of smoke. Someone had a camp fire going on the far side of the lake. He took a minute to decide if he wanted to drive around there or walk. The walk would take a couple of hours and another couple of hours to get back. If he was wrong – half a day would be lost. The truck would be much faster but it also might be heard. He decided to walk.

It took him almost three hours to get there and he cursed his decision several times along the way – especially when he had to climb down a ravine and wade through knee-deep water to get to the other side. He plowed ahead though, cursing and swearing vengeance all the way.

Finally he was close enough to smell the smoke and hear voices. He sidled up to the clearing carefully, staying well back under cover.

There they were! And there Jack sat, barefoot, with his arms tied behind him. His face looked bruised and bloody but he was aware and alert. He had a gag on and his ankles were tied together.

Ennis had a wave of nausea – it was almost like his dream only in his dream it was him and not Jack!

"That iron hot enough?" One of the men called to the other. "Let's get on with this. I wanna get on home."

"Yeah, it'll do." The other one answered.

The two men nearest Jack grabbed him and stood him up. One of the men undid Jack's belt and yanked his jeans down while the other came towards him with the white-hot tire iron.

Ennis didn't even think about it. He raised the gun and fired. The man with the tire iron fell to the ground – a small round hole at his temple dribbled blood out onto the ground.

The men dropped Jack and scrambled. The echo of his first shot barely faded when the second shot took one of the men in his thigh and he fell to the ground shrieking. Ennis stepped out into the clearing then, right beside the truck the other two were making their way towards. Ennis raised the gun to fire and it jammed.

The two men seeing this jumped him. The fight was vicious – the two men fighting for their lives and Ennis fighting for the love of his life, not caring about his own life at all.

One of them managed to get Ennis in a choke hold around the neck and the other was beating him with both fists when the one in front of him fell to the ground. Ennis managed to get out of the choke hold and had the one by the same hold. With a quick jerk to the side, that he had seen on TV many times, he snapped the man's neck. He looked up to see Jack standing there, knife in hand gasping for air.

Jack dropped the knife and flung himself into Ennis's arms. They stood there holding onto each other for a good long while before Ennis untangled them. "C'mon. We gotta get out a here."

"Wait!" Jack stopped him. "We got a do somethin' with these two and the others."

"Leave 'em to the wolves." Ennis said as he tried to pull Jack towards the woods.

"No. They'll be found. They dug a grave back in the woods. They were gonna bury me there." Jack choked on the words.

Ennis stared at him in horror for a minute then through clenched teeth said, "Let's see if it's deep enough. Be careful – one of 'em ain't dead. I only got him in the leg. He's still be out there somewhere."

"No, he's dead." Jack said grimly. "He was crawlin' over this way towards the truck and right passed me. He had his knife out. I managed a kick to his head and knocked him out. I got the knife and got loose. He was comin' around and I … he won't be comin' round no more. He's ready for that grave."

Ennis stared at him as he spoke then got back down to business. "OK then. Grab yourself a pair of boots then and let's get this mess cleaned up. Where's that grave at?"

Jack pulled the boots off the man he had just stabbed in the back and stomped into them, then showed Ennis the hole that he had sat and watched them dig. He knew what it was for and the hair stood up on the back of his neck as he pointed it out to Ennis.

"Good. They dug deep enough. They go in face down – lookin' into hell where they will spend eternity." Ennis said as he walked back to the first body, hefted it up over his shoulder and carried it to the grave and dumped it in.

Jack started to drag the other and Ennis stopped him. "No. Don't leave no drag marks." He swiped his boot back and forth of the short trail that Jack had left. He picked up the man's feet and the two of the carried the second body and dumped it.

It was a tight squeeze but they managed to get all four bodies in and Jack stood and watched as Ennis filled the grave in making a heap at the top with the extra dirt, knowing it would all settle down in with the first good rain.

They set to picking up the clearing. Everything that was brought in with the men was tossed into the back of their truck. The fire pit was dismantled and the embers kicked apart. Ennis broke a low branch off and began wiping their tracks from the soft ground. They each got into one of the men's pickups and drove until they found a nice stony area that over looked the lake's edge. Ennis got out first and looked all around for any signs or sounds of anyone. All was quiet. They rolled the pickups off and into the lake below where they hit with a tremendous splash and sank. They removed all signs of the tire tracks and headed off through the woods to the other side of the lake and the safety of Ennis' truck.

"I wanna drive." Jack said hours later when they arrived back where Ennis had parked the truck.

"Sure thing." Ennis tossed Jack the keys and they got in and headed out. Their drive was as silent as their walk to the truck had been and they were back out on the highway before either of them spoke.

"I'm hungry. Did you bring anything to eat?" Jack asked.

"Just some bread and peanut butter."

"That'd be fine." Jack answered not taking his eyes off the road.

Ennis made them both sandwiches and poured water into the lid of the thermos to drink from.

"You're heading south, Bud. You missed the turn."

"I didn't miss it. We're goin' to Childress. I'm gonna put a stop to this once and for all."

xxxxxx

Ennis didn't like the plan but there was no way in hell he'd tell Jack no to anything he wanted to do right then. He figured Jack had a right to his vengeance. The old man had gone too far this time and Jack was right. They had stepped over the line this time and their only hope in getting away with it was if the old man was taken care of, once and for all. He had hoped that by the time they got to Childress that Jack would be calmer and they could come up with another plan.

xxxxxx

"He don't know your voice and I'm sure he didn't talk with all four of those men so the phone call's gotta come from you so he'll believe it."

"All right, Jack. If you think this is the only way?"

"It's the only way that's come to us so far and we talked about it all the way down here."

"You think it will work?"

"It's the only thing I can think of that will put enough of a scare into him. We got a show him we can get to him just as easily as he can get to me. If he wants to play rough, then we got a show him we can play rough too."

"OK. We're in this so deep I can't see that we can get in much deeper." Ennis picked up the phone and dialed the Newsome's home.

"Newsome residence," L.D. answered imperiously.

"We need to talk." Ennis growled into the phone.

"Who the hell is this?"

"We need more money."

"What the hell you talkin' about? Who is this?"

"We just finished that little job up in Wyomin' you asked us to do for you. Our truck broke down in the fuckin' woods and it cost near fifteen hundred to fix it. You only give us five hundred a piece for the job."

"You got all your gonna get from me, boy!"

"Well, now, maybe we'll just go see that pretty little daughter of yours and take her for a little ride in the country. How about that!"

"Don't you fuckin' touch my daughter!" L.D. was livid.

"Look, we ain't aimin' to hold you up. We just want the fifteen hundred we had to pay to get the truck fixed. That way we at least we each made five a piece on the deal. You ain't gonna find anyone will work cheaper than that."

"Fifteen hundred and you'll disappear?"

"You got it. We don't wanna be hangin' around here anyway. You come on over here right now with the money and we'll be on our way."

"Hell! It's the middle of the night!"

"This ain't the kind a business you can do in day light. Unless, of course, you want the four of us meeting you out at the Country Club for breakfast."

"No, no! Oh God no. OK. Where are you?"

"Where else would we be? We're sittin' in your daughter's office over at Newsome's Farm Equipment waitin' on you!"

"Holy shit. OK. OK. You got me. I'll bring the money. Don't you touch nothin' in that office! I'll be right there."

Ennis hung up the phone.

"He buy it?" Jack asked anxiously.

"He'll be right over." Ennis said and watched as Jack sat the supplies out that they had stopped in Denver and purchased.

"I never knew they had such things, Jack."

"There's lots of things available, Cowboy, more stuff than you can imagine."

"I don't wanna know how you know about all this stuff."

"Mostly I know from advertisements in the back of magazines. I have bought lots of these magazines when I been out on business trips." Jack answered as he placed the magazines exactly as he wanted them – opened to the centerfolds – across the top of Lureen's desk.

In no time they heard the key in the back lock.

"Just follow my lead." Jack whispered as they stood in the dark and waited for L.D. to come through the door.

Jack flattened himself against the wall so he would be behind the door when it opened. Ennis stood behind Lureen's desk so he would be the first thing L.D. saw when he came through the door.

"Why you waitin' in the dark? Too stupid to find the light switch?" L.D. said as he flipped the switch on and stepped up to the desk.

Jack stepped out behind him, closed the door and locked it. L.D. turned around, saw him and nearly passed out. He started sputtering and stammering, "You! … What the hell? …I thought you said …" He turned to look at Ennis and reality dawned on him. "You ain't … "

"One of the men you hired to kill Jack? No. I ain't one of them." Ennis answered as he stood there fiddling with the lengths of rope he held in his hands.

L.D. spotted the rope and began to sweat. "Kill Jack? No way! I never told 'em that! They were just s'posed to bring him back here like last time." He pulled his linen handkerchief out of his pocket and mopped his forehead.

"That ain't what they said." Jack said.

L.D. whirled on him. "I wouldn't do somethin' like that, Jack. You know me better than that. I was just tryin' to scare you into doin' what was right. You got no idea how much Lureen is sufferin' after you dumped her. She's miserable without you. I was just tryin' to bring you back into the family is all." L.D. gave him a shitty smile.

"Let's leave Lureen out of this. This is between you and me, L.D." He thumped L.D. on the chest with a pointed finger.

"What … what are you gonna do?" L.D. said and backed away from him stumbling back against Lureen's desk.

"What are we gonna do? Well now, L.D. what do you think a couple of fairies would do with a stud duck like you?" Jack leered at him.

"No!" L.D. edged around the side of the desk but Ennis was there to cut off any thought of escape. "L.D. lunged for the phone and Jack grabbed it and yanked it loose from the wall.

L.D. glanced down and saw the open magazines on the top of Lureen's desk and shrieked in horror. "Aaayyyy. Get that garbage off Lureen's desk!"

"Garbage? Why just look at these, L.D., 'cause that's what's gonna happen to you!" Jack picked up a magazine and shoved it in L.D. face. Then to Ennis he said, "Which one you wanna try first?"

"Oh I don't know. I always kinda wanted to fuck some fat guy bent over his desk."

"OK. Sounds like a plan to me!" Jack grabbed L.D. by both arms and pulled him across the desk on his stomach.

"NO! NO!" L.D. squealed. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I NEVER MEANT FOR THEM TO KILL YOU, JACK, I SWEAR!"

Ennis came up behind L.D. and yanked at his pants until he got them down around his knees.

"JACK, NO! I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE, I PROMISE! You want money? I'll give it to you! Anything you want!"

"You got a hold of him?" Jack asked Ennis.

"Uh huh." Ennis said as he pinned L.D. down from behind.

"Good." Jack let go long enough to reach down and bring the bag of toys up and dump them out on the desk in front of L.D. "We really should open him up first. Which one you want? The ten inch or the six?" He held up two dildos for Ennis to choose from.

"Six would be easiest but ten would be closer to my size." Ennis grinned over the terrified man's back.

"Ten it is then," Jack said as he opened the tube of lube and squeezed some out all around the tip.

"NO! NO!" L.D. screamed and struggled but he was no match for Ennis who held him tightly in place with very little effort.

"No? Maybe I got somethin' you'll like better." He reached into Lureen's desk drawer and pulled out the pistol that she kept there. "Ever have a pistol shoved up your ass before, L.D.?"

"Jack, NO!... I swear … NO!..." He gasped.

Jack walked around the side of the desk so he was behind L.D. "Yes, sir, I think he just might like this a little better!" Jack stuck the pistol in L.D. crack and started to press in when the old man started gagging and gasping and in less than a minute became still.

"What happened?" Ennis asked.

"I don't know. I think he passed out." Jack reached over and felt under L.D. chin for a pulse.

"Shit!" Jack said. "I think he's dead."

"Dead?"

"Can't find a pulse." They both tried and when they turned him over they saw L.D.'s eyes staring off into space and his mouth gaping open.

"Shit." Ennis said.

Without any further discussion they first wiped away any trace of lube on L.D., righted his clothes and sat him back in Lureen's chair. Jack set about putting all the magazines and toys back in the bags while Ennis straightened up the desk. Jack wiped the gun off good and stuck it back in Lureen's hiding place, taped under the top of her first desk drawer and plugged the phone back in. They left the light on, the door unlocked and left.

They were on the road at least an hour before Jack spoke up. "I didn't mean to kill him."

"Don't matter. We already put four men in the ground. One more ain't gonna matter one way or the other."

xxxxxx

They drove straight through, taking turns behind the wheel and keeping to the speed limit. The last thing they needed right now was to get pulled over for speeding.

They pulled up in front of their house and it was snowing. "Almost time to cut us a Christmas tree." Jack said as he remembered that Christmas almost two years ago.

"Got a couple a weeks though before time to put one up. We could go out tomorrow and scout one up."

"I'd like that." Jack shook his head.

They went inside then and went straight to bed after feeding their dogs that were rambunctious and back to normal now that the tranquilizers had worn off.

They lay in bed side by side smoking. "You gonna leave me now?" Jack asked in a quiet little voice.

Ennis leaned up, stubbed his cigarette out, and pulled Jack into his arms and held him tight. "Nope. We're in this together, Jack. We'll ride it as long as we can."

Jack put his head against Ennis chest and wept.

xxxxxx

Ten days later …

Jack came upstairs, took his clothes off and joined Ennis in the tub.

"Bobby doin' OK?"

"Uh huh. I got news though." Jack leaned back against Ennis' chest and Ennis rested his chin on the top of Jack's head.

"What? Lureen gettin' remarried?"

"Nah." Jack sat up and turned to face Ennis. "It's L.D. He ain't dead!"

"What?" Ennis came to full alert. "He was dead. He didn't have no pulse!"

"He had a stroke. He's in bad shape but he ain't dead."

"Is he talkin?"

"Nope. Can't talk or walk or feed himself or nothin'. Bobby says he just lays there starin off into space. Don't even recognize him or Lureen."

"Hmmmm. I guess it's true. Some people actually do get what they deserve. Any chance of him gettin' better?"

"Bobby said chances are slim of him ever recoverin'. Lureen put him in a nursin' home."

"Good place for him."

"Even if he recovers, I don't see him causin' us any more trouble; do you?"

"Probably not. I guess we scared him pretty good."

"Uh huh. I ain't sorry we did it. Are you?"

"Nope." Ennis caressed the side of Jack's neck. "I hate what we had to do but there wasn't exactly time for me to go bring the law in. I did what had to be done and I ain't sorry about that."

"You did what you did to save my life." Jack said.

"And you did what you did to save mine. We ain't killers, Jack. What we done was survive. I think the Man upstairs knows that or we'd be in jail already."

Jack leaned back down and slipped his arms around Ennis. "I'd do it again if someone was beating you."

"Me too. I got no regrets." Ennis petted Jack's head.

"You think we'll get away with it?"

"Don't know." He pressed a kiss on the top of Jack's head. "I'll tell you somethin', Jack. There ain't none of us knows how much time we got here and we wasted enough of our lives worryin' about what other folks think. We faced the worst and we come though it. I ain't gonna waste another minute worryin' about things like that any more."

"You ain't scared?"

"Jack, I can't remember a day in my life when I wasn't scared of somethin' or other. It's part of who I am and there ain't no way I can change that. Our life here is just too good not to fight for."

Jack leaned up, took a bottle off the shelf and poured some into the tub and pressed the button. The tub filled with bubbles as the water swirled around them. "Can we go Christmas present shopping tomorrow?" He asked as he leaned back into Ennis' arms again.

"We can do anythin' in this world that you want." Ennis held him close. "We ain't gonna waste a day – not even an hour. Whatever time we got left to us, we're gonna live it to the fullest."

And they did for the next thirty seven years. They were respected members of the community and their ranch produced some of the best stock in the county. They made quite a respectable name for themselves.

No news was ever heard about the four men in the shallow grave in the forest. Apparently no one ever called the authorities saying they were missing and the bodies were never found.

L.D. Newsome lived for five more years. He came around some but never spoke a word that anyone understood.

Their children got used to the idea of their living together and came for visits and later on brought their children to meet their two Grandpas. Large family gatherings were often held with children and grandchildren from both sides all there together.

They handled their old age like they did everything else – looking after each other, making sure they took their pills and massaging Ben Gay into each other's arthritic joints.

They went fishing the day Jack died. They just made it home with their catch when Jack staggered a bit and grabbed his chest. Ennis caught him before he hit the floor and got him to the couch. Jack's eyes fluttered a bit, opened and he said, "Love ya, Cowboy."

"Love you too, Bud." Ennis answered as the tears rolled down his cheeks. And then he was gone.

Ennis made all the arrangements and everyone was there. The funeral was attended by half the town as well as their combined families. Jack was in the ground ten days when they found Ennis' body slumped over his grave. The marker wasn't even up yet. When it finally arrived, some time after Ennis' funeral, visitors to the gravesite read it and smiled. It was large – large enough to head up both their side by side plots. It read simply Jack Twist, gave both his birth and death dates and underneath said "My Bud". On Ennis' side, under his name and dates it read, "His Cowboy" Exactly as Ennis had instructed. Their story had ended but their legacy of love lingered on with their children and grandchildren and all the friends who loved them.

THE END

19


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